Angel Island: last of the eucalyptus

From Angel Island to Belvedere | Jack Cassinetto

“Angel Island: The Last of the Eucalyptus” presents a new body of work — both paintings and painted furniture — by noted California landscape artist Jack Cassinetto. The work captures the disappearing eucalyptus trees on Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay.

While Cassinetto usually paints northern California’s more rural areas, he was drawn to paint the eucalyptus trees on Angel Island before they were cut earlier this year as part of the state’s “exotic species removal project.” That project has logged many of the eucalyptus trees on Angel Island because they are not native to the island (or to anywhere else in California, for that matter).

For much of his life, Cassinetto has been painting the Northern California landscape. He has a special affinity for the eucalyptus trees that dot the countryside.

The Angel Island exhibition premiered at the Arts & Crafts Expo in San Francisco in August, and continues at the gallery. Included alongside Cassinetto’s paintings in antique frames are his first paintings on antique furniture, including two early 20th century drop-front desks.